Cleveland Bay, Yarm. Second Wednesday of the month http://www.freewebs.com/yarmmcc Tel: 07517 605614

CLUB NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2012

Happy New Year everybody! Hope you all have a successful, fulfilling and safe 2012.

The newsletter is later than usual owing to my being out all the holidays visiting relatives, getting tiddly, sleeping and doing other pointless stuff! I feel about a stone heavier and knackered! It will be nice when it is all over!

Committee Meeting Wednesday 4th January 2012 Annual General Meeting Wednesday 11th January 2012 General Club Meeting Wednesday 8th February 2012

Forthcoming Events (latest additions in Bold). Let me know of any event you would like to be publicised. Jan 8 Christmas/New Year Lunch at Cafe 85, Yarm. Start 1pm Jan 7/8 2012 Classic Bike Guide Winter Show, Newark County Showground. Meet Steve Plater. Feb 2 – 5 MCN Motorcycle Show, EXCEL, London Feb 18/19 32nd Carole Nash Bristol Classic Motorcycle show Mar 10/11 Scottish Motorcycle Show, The Highland Centre, Edinburgh (Club Run 10th) Apr 20-22 Club Camping Weekend at Marthrown of Mabie. Apr 28/29 International Classic Motorcycle show, Stafford Showground May 12/13 The Great Scottish Bike Show, The Lanark Agricultural Centre May 18-20 BMF Show, Peterborough May 19 NorthWest 200. NB. Ferry NOT from Stranraer. Now from CAINRYAN. Jun 30 to Jul 1 National Road Rally Jul 6-8 BMF Kelso Bikefest Jul 6-8 Festival of 1000 Bikes. Go to www.vmcc.net/1000bikes for more information. Sep 14-16 BMF Tailend Rally, Peterborough Dec 1/2 The Scottish Dirt Bike Show, The Lanark Agricultural Centre

The Club Website. Visit the Club Website at www.freewebs.com/yarmmcc/. If you have stuff for sale or an event to promote then this is the place to put it for wide coverage. Send your material to Steve Watts on [email protected]. Check out via the Guestbook when you have finished your comments.

The BMF. Why not join the BMF as an individual member and save yourself and the Club money? In order to strengthen the membership base of the BMF and thus give it more clout in working for riders’ rights, the Club Member Conversion Scheme has been introduced. As an Affiliate Member of the BMF through the club, you can convert to Full Membership at a £5 reduction in the normal fee AND make a further £5 for the Club. The joining fee will be £21, reduced from £26, and the club will receive a payback of £5 for every member recruited. The payback to the club will be in the form of a credit note to be cashed in exchange for 1 part of their affiliation fee for the forthcoming year. Speak to the Club Secretary for details and Application forms. The Yarm Motorcycling Club is affiliated to the BMF. For details of the BMF go to www.bmf.co.uk

Annual General Meeting. Just a reminder about the AGM. There will be an election for the post of Vice Treasurer and for all other officers of the Committee. Volunteers are always most welcome!

New Biker Cafe in the Lake District. A motorcycle hire company is opening the first ever proper biker cafe in the Lake District on 3December. The cafe, based on the petrol station at Crosthwaite near Keswick, will be called ‘The Filling Station Cafe.’ The cafe is in the style of the ‘50s and with lots of black and white biking photos on the walls. For your GPS type in post code CA12 5PR.

Riders CRASH Card. A ‘CRASH’ card for bikers is available from an Essex Ambulance Motorcycle group. The card, with some of your basic details, is placed inside your helmet and a small green sticker is fixed the outside of the helmet to alert ambulance crews. The card is growing in popularity in both the USA and UK. To get your card got to www.ambulancemotorcycleclub.150m.com.

Licence Change in 2013. I know there is a year to go, but for anyone who goes for a bike test in 2013 faces a few hurdles before getting a full licence. For starters, the minimum age for Direct Access goes up to 24 from 21. Direct Access has to be conducted on a machine of at least 595cc and 54bhp. For those going for the more gradual route then the first hurdle is a test on a machine up to 125cc and 15bhp if aged between 17 and 19. Above 19 they can qualify to ride a bike up to 47bhp by doing another test, which must be on a machine over 395cc and between 33bhp and 47bhp. There is then a wait of 2 years before being allowed to ride a bike of any power.

Wonky Electrics on BMW Finally Sorted. For some time now I have been plagued by intermittent electrical faults. The first fault was about 18 months ago when horn stopped working. After trying a few things I came to the conclusion that there was a break in the wiring loom somewhere. As I couldn’t locate the break I ended up completely paralleling the original wiring with new. This entailed removing the oil coolers to remove the fuel tank to get at the wiring loom. Everything ran fine after that until about 6 months ago when the left indicator stopped. Same job had to be done as for the horn. Then the hazard flashers stopped working; I fixed that. Then I couldn’t get high-beam on the headlight. I lived with it for a few days, knowing that I had the Christmas break to strip the bike down again and run parallel wires along the main loom. Just by chance I had left the high beam selected while backing the bike for parking and when full left lock was on the bars, the headlight went to high beam! At least I could narrow down the fault to where the loom for the left bar switchery was under maximum flex. The loom was tie-wrapped to the headstock, leaving little room for ‘give’. Anyhow, here are the pictures of what I found after stripping back the covering:

Three wires completely separated Fourth wire after stripping covering

2 Guess I was lucky not to have a fire of some other major problem. The wiring loom has been covered in a plastic ‘hose’ and left to hang ‘free’ around the headstock to prevent the same problem occurring. BMW Please Note!

BMW Security Mark all New Bikes. As reported in MCN, BMW has become the first manufacturer to agree to security mark all bikes made from 1st January 2012. The security system chosen is Datatag, whereby dozens of parts on each machine will be given a unique code, linking them to the owner. Some 25,000 bikes go missing every year, with only about 42% recovered. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit and the plague of thefts will markedly diminish.

Speakers. At the recent committee meeting we discussed the speakers programme for 2012. At present we have no one nominated, so me, your dutiful secretary, has agreed to give a talk in February on the latest developments in Satellite Navigation and other useful gizmos, such as Bluetooth. We are always looking for volunteers to give a talk on a subject of mutual interest. Perhaps you have had an adventure in the past or come up against some problem with your bike which you have managed to solve in an innovative way? Don’t be shy, come forward and tell us all about it. Speakers required for March, April and May.

Rideouts. After last years’ successful rideout programme Allan Coverdale has come up with a list of dates for the next series this year. The format will be the same as before, where a member agrees to lead a ride on the Sunday following the Club meeting. The only exception will be in August when the run will be to on the 27th.

Club Rally. Our Chairman, Brian Taylor, has put a deposit down for the rally planned for 20-22 April at Marthrown of Mabie in Dumfries and Galloway. Those intending to participate should pay Brian at the AGM or the earliest possible opportunity. More details at the AGM.

BMF Rally. Members have expressed interest in having a Club stand at the BMF Kelso Rally. As your BMF Representative I will endeavour to get details at the Council Meeting in Leicester on 21st January. It would basically entail setting up on the Friday and dismantling after 4pm on the Sunday. Costs etc will be identified asap.

Ridewell. Ridewell for 2012 has been cancelled. However, there should be a Bikewise event at Durham and other similar events throughout the North over the year. I will endeavour to get more details as police forces sort their programmes out.

Club Member’s Book of Poems. The Club has plenty of talent about. Chris Robinson has written a number of entertaining stories which have been published in cooperation with the Easingwold Writers. Les Cairns has written a series of poems which have been collated in book form and is now on sale. The poems have received high acclaim and you should get your copy soonest. Order your copy from Les. Proceeds from the sale of books will go to the Butterwick Hospice.

Club Shield. The Club Shield for Rider of the Year has been found and is now in the possession of Gloria Coverdale. The ‘Rider of the Year Award’ will be re-instated and the Committee will have the responsibility of nominating and deciding the eventual winner. The Rider of the Year for 2011 has been decided.

THE END GAME. Theme for this month is more wonky stuff (this newsletter is for bikers; it is not a recipe for fairy cakes!!): Mother Superior gets all the Nuns and Novices together for a ‘state of the nation’ talk. After a few notices to the captive audience she says, “We have a case of Chlamydia in the Convent!” An old nun at the back replies, “I hope it’s better than that crap Chardonnay that we had last week!”

3 Started my new job as a Bus Driver today but it didn’t go too well. This stunning blonde with huge, firm breasts got on the bus and said “Are you going to Oldham?” She didn’t have to ask me twice! Oh well, back to the Job Centre tomorrow. Two businessmen in East Fremantle were sitting down for a break in their soon-to-be new shop. As yet the shop wasn't ready, with only a few shelves set up. One said to the other, "I bet any minute now some pensioner is going to walk by, put his face to the window, and ask what we're selling." No sooner were the words out of his mouth when, sure enough, a curious old woman walked to the window, had a peek, and in a soft voice asked, "What are you selling here?" One of the men replied sarcastically, "We're selling arse-holes." Without skipping a beat, the old dear said, “Must be doing well... Only two left." One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door. Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you, I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his door. Then a Member of Parliament came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you I'm doing community service this week.' The Politician was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen Members of Parliament lined up waiting for a free haircut. And that, my friends, illustrates the fundamental difference between the citizens of our country and the politicians who run it. REMEMBER, POLITICIANS AND DIAPERS SHOULD BE CHANGED OFTEN AND FOR THE SAME REASON The Euro financial crisis explained: Some years ago a small town in Spain was twinned with a similar small town in Greece The Mayor from Greece visited Spain, and was amazed by the Spanish Mayors house, it was huge with marble floors and a pool. "He asked how can you afford all this", the Spanish Mayor replied " see that bridge over there, the EEC gave us money for a 4 lane bridge, but by building a 2 lane bridge I could have all this." A few years later the Spanish Mayor visited Greece and saw the Greek Mayors mansion, 12 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms 2 pools and gold fittings everywhere. The Spanish Mayor asked "How can you afford all this". The Greek Mayor replied "See that bridge over there?" the Spanish Mayor replied "No!" Husband to Wife, “Why on earth can’t you let me know you are about to orgasm?” Wife replies, “I’d feel embarrassed phoning you at work!”

Wot! Not Got a Computer? This newsletter contains quite a few references to web sites and email addresses. Where there are alternatives such as phone numbers or mailing addresses I will publish them. Get advice from Steve Watts if you are planning to go ‘digital’.

And it’s ‘Goodnight’ from him. Please call me if you would like something putting in the newsletter. There is no deadline...you either make the next issue or you don’t! My email address: [email protected] or phone me – 01325 721669 (Answerphone on). Mobile 07517 605614.

4 THE 2012 RACING CALENDAR. Always confirm fixture before travelling! Date MotoGP WSB BSB Feb 26 Phillip Island Apr 1 Imola Apr 6 – 9 Indy Apr 13 – 15 Thruxton Apr 15 Qatar (evening race) Apr 22 Assen Apr 29 Jerez May 5 – 7 May 6 Estoril Monza May 13 Donington May 20 Le Mans May 25 - 27 Snetterton 300 May 28 Miller Park, USA Jun 3 Catalunya Jun 10 San Marino Jun 17 Silverstone Jun 22 - 24 Jun 30 Assen Jul 1 Aragon Jul 6 – 8 Oulton Park Jul 8 Germany TBD Jul 15 Mugello Jul 20 - 22 Brands Hatch GP Jul 22 Brno Jul 29 Laguna Seca Aug 5 Silverstone Aug 19 Indianapolis Aug 25 – 27 Cadwell Park Aug 26 Brno Moscow Sep 7 – 9 GP Sep 9 Nurburgring Sep 16 San Marino Sep 21 - 23 Assen TT Circuit Sep 23 Portimao Sep 28 – 30 Silverstone GP Sep 30 Aragon Oct 7 Magny Cours Oct 12 – 14 Brands Hatch GP Oct 14 Motegi Oct 21 Sepang Oct 28 Phillip Island Nov 11 Valencia

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